Bilal Ibn Rabbah - A Most Honorable Status
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Bilal ibn Rabbah follows the story of a young, Ethiopian slave whose immense faith and strong love for the Prophet ﷺ elevated his social status from the lowest in society to such high honor. His name and story is well-known among Muslim all around the world and he remains one of the most well-known Sahabah over a thousand years later.
Background
Bilal Ibn Rabbah was an Ethiopian slave who was brought to Makkah to work for the family of Jomah. Both him and his mother were slaves for this family. His owner was a cruel and powerful man known as Omaiyyah bin Khalaf. Although he had such difficult times living under Omaiyyah, he was able to learn about the Prophet ﷺ and the message of Islam.
Becoming a Muslim
One day, Bilal heard his owner, Omaiyyah, talking among members of his tribe about a man named Muhammad, who was saying he was the Prophet of Allah. While most of the talk was negative, as they were not pleased with the emergence of a new religion, Bilal picked up on the good characteristics of this religion. It had a stark contrast to the difficult and unjust life he was living with Omaiyyah. Even the powerful men in Makkah recognized that Muhammad was never a liar nor a magician nor was he crazy, so they felt confused by the conviction of his words. They did not want to believe him, which left them angry and confused. Their many conversations led Bilal to learn about Muhammad ﷺ and his message, the religion of Islam.
A day came where Bilal Ibn Rabbah felt an urge to follow the deen of Muhammad ﷺ. This is the hidayah, or guidance, of Allah SWT which he instilled in Bilal’s heart. He went to the Prophet ﷺ and embraced Islam.
Omaiyyah’s Anger
News of Bilal’s conversion to Islam spread quickly and the tribe of Jomah was very angry. They felt it a direct act of disrespect to them that Bilal had converted to Islam and Muhammad ﷺ’s message had infiltrated their tribe. They felt their family and religion of their ancestors were being threatened by new calling to Islam. It was also a moment of contention that the new Prophet came from the tribe of Banu Hashim.
Omaiyyah bin Khalaf proudly said that Bilal would not last one day with the religion of Islam, but he was wrong. Bilal had strong faith and believed in every word that the Prophet ﷺ was teaching. Omaiyyah wanted to punish Bilal for his faith, and went to extreme measures to make him renounce his faith.
Ahad, Ahad
Bilal was tortured daily by Omaiyyah and his owners in cruel and inhumane ways. He would be taken out in the middle of the day, when it was the hottest, and placed to lie down on the burning sand. Then, a large boulder was placed on his chest. Remember that this was a hot desert, in the middle of the day, with a huge boulder hindering his breathing by being placed on his chest. His owners would say that as soon as he renounced, or took back the words of, his faith, then they would remove the stone and end the torture. It came to the point where even the ones who were torturing him every day grew tired and were begging him to say that his gods were Lat and Uzza (the gods which Quraysh believed in at the time). Yet, he refused.
The only words that left his mouth were “Ahad, Ahad”, meaning “[Allah SWT is] The One, [Allah SWT is] The One.”
Omaiyyah would also physically beat Bilal, upset with the shame he felt was brought upon him by Bilal’s Islam. Yet, Bilal would still only repeat, “Ahad, Ahad”.
Emancipation from Slavery
Word of Bilal’s unwavering strength reached the ears of Abu Bakr as Siddiq (RA) and he decided to help him break free of Omaiyyah’s cruelty. He approached Omaiyyah and said that he would like to buy Bilal from him. Abu Bakr was a very wealthy man and paid a great sum for Bilal. Omaiyyah was relieved to be free of this problem and accepted. As soon as Bilal was with him, he emancipated him, or let him be a free man. Their first stop was to visit the Prophet ﷺ and let him know that Bilal was now a free man. It was a source of happiness and pride for all the Muslims!
Receiving the Greatest Honor
After the migration to Medina and establishment of prayer, a Sahabah by the name of Abdullah ibn Zaid had a dream. In his dream, he was shown a way to call the Muslims together for prayer, in which he heard the same athan we call today. He went to the Prophet ﷺ and told him of his dream. The Prophet ﷺ thought of who could have this honor, and chose Bilal (RA) for his beautiful and melodious voice. He called for Bilal and taught him the athan.
From this point onwards, Bilal called the athan for every single prayer until the Prophet’s death.
The Battle of Badr
The leaders of Quraysh came to Medina to attack the Muslims in the Battle of Badr. Among them was Omaiyyah bin Khalaf, the old owner of Bilal Ibn Rabbah. Fighting broke out between the non muslims and the Muslims, with the Muslims calling the same words as Bilal years ago: “Ahad, Ahad”. Towards the end of the war, Omaiyyah came across the Sahabah Abdulrahman ibn Awf. Knowing that Muslims do not kill their war captives, he asked for his protection in exchange to be his war captive. Abdulrahman agreed and he was now under his protection.
While taking him to the place of captives, Bilal saw him and was filled with rage. He wanted to strike him, but was stopped by Abdulrahman (RA), as he was a war captive. Bilal called out to the Muslims that in front of him was Omaiyyah, killer and mocker of the Muslims, and that he would not walk away from this Battle if Omaiyyah was not dead. Now surrounded by many Muslims who stood on the side of Bilal, Abdulrahman could not do anything to protect his captive. Bilal raised his sword and ended Omaiyyah’s cruel and harmful life.
The Return to Makkah
Years later, the Muslims returned to Makkah in victory. The Quraysh were shocked that the small number of Muslims who fled in the night to Medina returned in thousands and thousands. They had no choice but to feel overwhelmed and helpless. As soon as the Muslims entered Makkah, they headed straight to the Kabah. Surrounding the Kabah were the statues of Lat, Uzza, and the other idols which Quraysh worshiped. Bilal broke the idols that were in front of him and trampled on them with his feet. The Prophet ﷺ told Bilal to stand atop the Kabah and call the athan, just as he did in Medina.
Bilal called the athan and the entire city stood still, with the sounds of the Muslims echoing the call to prayer.
Living with the Khaleefa
Bilal continued living alongside the Prophet ﷺ for the remaining years in Makkah, and continued calling the Muslims to prayer every day. He stayed a humble and generous man, who considered himself nothing more than an Ethiopian slave. The Prophet ﷺ used to say that Bilal was one of the people of Jannah, or Paradise. What a great honor!
After the death of the Prophet ﷺ, Abu Bakr as Siddiq became the first khaleefa, or Caliphate, of Islam. At this time, Bilal no longer wanted to call the prayer as it reminded him so much of the Prophet ﷺ and would leave tears in his eyes and his heart heavy. He told Abu Bakr (RA) that he would like to do one the best deeds one can do, Jihad for the sake of Allah SWT.
At this point, scholars differ in two opinions about what Bilal did next. Some say that he traveled to Sham and fought alongside the Muslims to spread the Deen. Others say that he continued calling the athan during Abu Bakr’s Caliphate, then traveled to Sham and fought alongside the Muslims when Omar (RA) became Khaleefa.
The last call to prayer by Bilal was in Sham, when Omar (RA) came to visit. The Muslims urged him to call the athan in honor of the khaleefa visiting this land. Bilal agreed and began the call to prayer. While calling the prayer and saying “I testify that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah'', Bilal and all the Muslims who were alive at the time of the Prophet ﷺ wept as if they have never cried before. Omar bin Al Khattab (RA) cried the most out of all of them all.
Not long after, Bilal (RA) passed away while doing what he loved the most, standing in Jihad for the sake of Allah SWT. He is currently buried in Damascus, Syria and his story is well-known among everyone around the world.